Order at Work and the Rule of St. Benedict
Last time we offered some suggestions for imposing order on our work day. We saw how an ordered day can help us carve out the time we need for our spiritual life. Today, the Rule of St. Benedict will provide us with another perspective on the value of order in our work.
As readers of this blog know, we've consistently recommended The Rule of St. Benedict as a primary resource for Catholic men at work. I read a section every morning and have learned much that's helped me connect my work to my spiritual life over the years. With our recent theme of freshening up our approach to work as we begin our days after the end of the Easter Season, let's turn to the beginning sections of the Rule to get a boost to our fresh start.
St. Benedict has offered his monks "tools" to use as they commence their life in the monastery. We've previously suggested various ways we "non-monks" can effectively bring these same tools to work with us each day. (You can find them HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE.) Remember that the life of the monk basically consists of ora et labora - prayer and work. We laymen can and should also incorporate ora et labora into our lives in the world outside the monastery. These tools assist in both ora et labora. St. Benedict here describes how:
"Behold these are the tools of the spiritual craft. If we employ them unceasingly day and night, and on the Day of Judgement render account of them, then we shall receive from the Lord in return that reward which he himself has promised: Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, what God hath prepared for those that love him. Now the workshop, wherein we shall diligently execute all theses tasks, is the enclosure of the monastery and stability in the community."
While we laymen don't work in the enclosure of a monastery, we might consider the duties and responsibilities of our state of life - either single or married - as a kind of enclosure in which we live and work. If we take our duties and responsibilities seriously and pursue them diligently, we will find our days filled with productive work both in the practical sense as well as the spiritual sense. Grace will flow from our pursuit. We will also gain merit when we do good and avoid evil which will be attributed to us in our particular judgement. So it's worth the effort, no?
St. Benedict then explains the various degrees of humility, that virtue which must provide the wellspring for our every thought, word, and action:
"The first degree of humility is obedience without delay."
And here we find the nexus between order and our work. We'll see that if we substitute "order" for "obedience."
"...as soon as anything has been ordered by the superior, they receive it as a divine command, and cannot suffer any delay in executing it..."
The order we impose on our work rules our day. And so we respond to it's "commands" throughout the day.
"...immediately abandoning their own affairs and forsaking their own will, dropping the work they were engaged on and leaving it unfinished , with swift obedience follow up with their deeds the voice of him who commands them. And almost in the same moment of time that the master's order is issued, is the disciple's work completed...so that not living by their own will, and obeying their own desires and passions, but walking by another's judgement, they dwell in monasteries and desire to have an abbot over them..."
While we laymen don't report to an abbot, all of us do have some "superior" that guides what we do in some way. Even when you run your own business, there's accountability in the form of customer or client needs and demands that require a prompt response. But whether you're part of a construction crew, sitting at work station programming code, or running a hot dog stand, the concept of "order" can be applied to all our work. Thus, we can see order as something that not only must be obeyed for practical reasons: It's good for us. For example, there are some aspects of my work I prefer to others. But sticking to the order of my day, I avoid the temptation to spend time with what I prefer, rather than attending to what is most important. Why is this good? It enhances my self-control; directs my attention away from myself. When done consistently and with a religious sensibility, it helps direct my efforts to the greater glory of God.
St. Benedict further instructs us about the the right attitude we should bring to our work:
"...the obedience which is given to superiors is given to God...And disciples should give their obedience with a good will, because God loveth a cheerful giver. For if the disciple obey with an ill will, and murmur not only in words but in his heart, then even though he fulfil the command, his work will not be acceptable to God, who sees that his heart is murmuring..."
Some of us are more naturally inclined to be cheerful, some not so much. I'm of the latter variety, so this one's a challenge for me some days. However, attending to the order of my day, to the extent it takes me out of my self and my feelings on a particular day, helps a lot here.
So thanks again St. Benedict for your wonderful lessons about our work. I'll be reading your Rule tomorrow morning as always looking for more helpful insights into how I can better attend to my daily work and do so for the greater glory of God.
As readers of this blog know, we've consistently recommended The Rule of St. Benedict as a primary resource for Catholic men at work. I read a section every morning and have learned much that's helped me connect my work to my spiritual life over the years. With our recent theme of freshening up our approach to work as we begin our days after the end of the Easter Season, let's turn to the beginning sections of the Rule to get a boost to our fresh start.
St. Benedict has offered his monks "tools" to use as they commence their life in the monastery. We've previously suggested various ways we "non-monks" can effectively bring these same tools to work with us each day. (You can find them HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE.) Remember that the life of the monk basically consists of ora et labora - prayer and work. We laymen can and should also incorporate ora et labora into our lives in the world outside the monastery. These tools assist in both ora et labora. St. Benedict here describes how:
"Behold these are the tools of the spiritual craft. If we employ them unceasingly day and night, and on the Day of Judgement render account of them, then we shall receive from the Lord in return that reward which he himself has promised: Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, what God hath prepared for those that love him. Now the workshop, wherein we shall diligently execute all theses tasks, is the enclosure of the monastery and stability in the community."
While we laymen don't work in the enclosure of a monastery, we might consider the duties and responsibilities of our state of life - either single or married - as a kind of enclosure in which we live and work. If we take our duties and responsibilities seriously and pursue them diligently, we will find our days filled with productive work both in the practical sense as well as the spiritual sense. Grace will flow from our pursuit. We will also gain merit when we do good and avoid evil which will be attributed to us in our particular judgement. So it's worth the effort, no?
St. Benedict then explains the various degrees of humility, that virtue which must provide the wellspring for our every thought, word, and action:
"The first degree of humility is obedience without delay."
And here we find the nexus between order and our work. We'll see that if we substitute "order" for "obedience."
"...as soon as anything has been ordered by the superior, they receive it as a divine command, and cannot suffer any delay in executing it..."
The order we impose on our work rules our day. And so we respond to it's "commands" throughout the day.
"...immediately abandoning their own affairs and forsaking their own will, dropping the work they were engaged on and leaving it unfinished , with swift obedience follow up with their deeds the voice of him who commands them. And almost in the same moment of time that the master's order is issued, is the disciple's work completed...so that not living by their own will, and obeying their own desires and passions, but walking by another's judgement, they dwell in monasteries and desire to have an abbot over them..."
While we laymen don't report to an abbot, all of us do have some "superior" that guides what we do in some way. Even when you run your own business, there's accountability in the form of customer or client needs and demands that require a prompt response. But whether you're part of a construction crew, sitting at work station programming code, or running a hot dog stand, the concept of "order" can be applied to all our work. Thus, we can see order as something that not only must be obeyed for practical reasons: It's good for us. For example, there are some aspects of my work I prefer to others. But sticking to the order of my day, I avoid the temptation to spend time with what I prefer, rather than attending to what is most important. Why is this good? It enhances my self-control; directs my attention away from myself. When done consistently and with a religious sensibility, it helps direct my efforts to the greater glory of God.
St. Benedict further instructs us about the the right attitude we should bring to our work:
"...the obedience which is given to superiors is given to God...And disciples should give their obedience with a good will, because God loveth a cheerful giver. For if the disciple obey with an ill will, and murmur not only in words but in his heart, then even though he fulfil the command, his work will not be acceptable to God, who sees that his heart is murmuring..."
Some of us are more naturally inclined to be cheerful, some not so much. I'm of the latter variety, so this one's a challenge for me some days. However, attending to the order of my day, to the extent it takes me out of my self and my feelings on a particular day, helps a lot here.
So thanks again St. Benedict for your wonderful lessons about our work. I'll be reading your Rule tomorrow morning as always looking for more helpful insights into how I can better attend to my daily work and do so for the greater glory of God.
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